Jonathan P. Roth

Þessi fyrirlestraröð um hernað og heimssöguna er með þeim betri sem ég hef hlýtt á. Kennarinn Jonathan P. Roth leiðir mann í gegnum söguna frá fyrstu ummerkjum um fyrstu mennina og fjallar um baráttu samfélaga sín á milli. Hvers vegna þau hafi þróast með þeim hætti sem þau gerðu og hvaða áhrif þau höfðu á menningu, vísindi og samskipti helstu samfélaga.
Mér finnst Roth gera þetta vel. Hann er ekkert að velta sér upp úr einstaka bardögum eða herforingum heldur bendir hann á samspil hernaðar og heimssögunnar og hvernig nýjungar bárust fram og til baka á milli helstu heimsveldanna s.s. hestvagnar, bogar, ístöð, byssupúður, hernaðartækni o.s.frv.
Ég uppgötvaði margt nýtt við hlustun þessara fyrirlestra sem sýnir manni hve nauðsynlegt er að fylgjast alltaf með því nýjasta sem er að birtast frá fræðimönnum þegar eldri "sannindum" er rutt úr vegi.… (altro)

Well, what the title promises really; a study of what can be known or inferred about Roman logistical arrangements during the time period covered. If you're interested in that sort of thing, you'd probably like it. And it you're not interested in that sort of thing, it will probably bore you to tears.

Notable for ancient-logistics nerds is that he takes issue with the widely cited numbers of Engels' Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army regarding how long an army could operate without replenishing supplies. According to Roth, Engels is excessively pessimistic because he overestimates the caloric requirements of ancient soldiers, who were on average older and smaller than the Vietnam-era Americans Engels bases his calculations on. He also thinks that the Romans would have been more willing to work their pack-animals to death or at least ill health than Engels allows for.

(An aspect neither seems to address head on is that even if you load your mules more heavily than is good for them at the start of an expedition, the load will fall as the men and animals consume the supplies. Presumably the load a mule can carry for a few days without lasting harm is higher than that it can carry indefinitely.)… (altro)

This is an excellent, easy to read, and accessible volume for the topic. Roth is introducing students to the topic without many of the scholarly apparatus that students find too intimidating to pursue. The book would make a good companion volume to books such as The Romans, or Ancient Rome. The illustrations are well done and appropriately placed throughout the work. This volume also seems to better Pat Southern's The Roman Army: A Social and Institutional History, a similar topic, although it is a shorter work and at first glance not as detailed.… (altro)